Together
by happeyNesS
Summary: Someone is after Annie. Auggie isn't sure who it is, or what he wants, but what he does know is that he'll protect Annie from anything.
1. Chapter 1

Annie and Auggie were out enjoying drinks at the tavern when she got the phone call. The dinging and beeping of her cell had made her jump out of her seat. Auggie, more used to abrupt sounds, simply leaned back in his chair, bringing his glass up to his mouth to hide the smirk that he knew was forming. He heard her digging her cell out of her pocket, tilting his head to listen more intently as she answered it.

"Annie Walker," Annie said in a professional tone. She had barely finished speaking when the voice on the other side interrupted.

"You need to get out of there." The voice was low, rough, unfamiliar.

Annie paused. "Who is this? How did you get this number?"

Auggie leaned forward. There was too much noise in the tavern for him to hear what the person on the other side was saying, but he could hear Annie's responses, and from what he could tell, something bad was happening.

"Trust me." The voice continued. "You need to get out of there."

Annie was about to say something else, when the man swiftly hung up.

"Annie?" Auggie questioned. "What did they say?"

Annie turned to him. "Auggie, I think it's time to go." She stood, placed some cash on their table, and then grabbed Auggie's arm, dragging him up. She leaned close to him so that she could whisper in his ear. "I was just warned to leave." They walked up a couple of steps forward. "I think something's going to happen."

Auggie and Annie quickly made their way out of the tavern using the back door. Annie pulled her hood up, and Auggie put his sunglasses on. She pulled Auggie close to her again as they rounded the corner to the front entrance of the bar. "Let's wait a bit near the front to figure out what's going on."

Annie had her arm looped around Auggie's, and now she leaned her head against his shoulder as they continued their walk across the entrance. It was easy to act like she and Auggie were in a relationship when they needed to go undercover. "Let's go across the street… there's a vendor sending hotdogs…. We'll buy one and then go and sit at a bench near the entrance." Annie led him across the street.

Auggie bought a hotdog while Annie kept watch on the entrance. The two made their way to the bench seated near the front entrance of the tavern and waited for a couple of minutes.

Auggie placed an arm around Annie's shoulder, holding the hotdog in the other. He had already taken two bites out of it. He held the hotdog in front of Annie. "Would you like some, honey?"

Annie glanced again at the entrance. Someone was coming out. "Sure…" She took a bite as Auggie held the hotdog. "Hmmmm, thanks." She leaned closer to him.

The man exiting the tavern spoke angrily into his cell. "She's not here." He violently placed a baseball hat on his head, shoving it down so that its shadow covered most of his face. Annie didn't get a chance to see it. "I don't know. Someone must have tipped her off."

Annie tilted her head up so her mouth brushed Auggie's ear. "At your ten o'clock. He's talking on his phone. Do you hear him?"

Auggie nodded his head, cocking it slightly.

The man continued. "I'll try again later. Maybe she hasn't arrived yet." He paused. "I'll let you know." He sped up his walk, closing his phone. As he passed the couple, Auggie heard him mutter, "Damn. I was sure Walker came here after work."

When he had disappeared around the corner, Auggie and Annie stood up, Auggie keeping his arm around her shoulder. What was rest of the hotdog was tossed into the nearest trashcan, and then Auggie pulled out his phone. "I'm going to call Joan to let her know what's going on."

Annie nodded. "Okay. We're almost to the car."

When they were both in, seated, and on their way to Auggie's apartment, Auggie placed his call.

"Joan? This is Auggie. It appears sweet Annie has a stalker. We don't know yet what he wants." Auggie paused to allow her to respond.

"Are you still with her? Stay with her. Come to work. I want to discuss this in person."

Auggie grunted. "Got it."

He ended the call. "Change of plans, Annie. Joan wants us in."

Annie glanced at him, and then pulled a sudden u-turn. She reached for her phone. "I need to call Danielle to tell her I can't make it to tonight's dinner."

She was just about to dial the number when Auggie's had intercepted her, taking the phone away. "You better use mine." He placed his in her hand. That man who had called her had known her cell number. Her _work_ cell number. Auggie was going to have to program a new phone for her.

"Oh. Right." She smiled at him. "Thanks."

She dialed the number, holding his phone up to her ear. She heard someone pick up. "Hello?" they asked.

"Danielle. This is Annie." Annie said as she turned into the parking lot of their building. "I'm really sorry, but I can't make it to dinner tonight."

"Really, Annie? I promise this guy isn't as bad as the one from last week!" Danielle protested.

Annie didn't get a chance to respond. Auggie had taken the phone from her. "Danielle? This is Auggie, a friend of Annie's from work. I'm afraid I won a bet, and now she owes me some drinks… she won't be home in time for dinner. Can you forgive her?"

"Oh!" came Danielle's flabbergasted response. "Put Annie back on, would you?"

Auggie handed the phone back to Annie as they exited the car. She had just put it up to her ear when Danielle hissed, "I want details when you get back, missy. How come you haven't mentioned this Auggie before?" She spoke louder. "Have a good time!" And then she hung up.

As Annie hooked her arm around Auggie's, she sent him a glare. "Thanks a lot, Auggie. Now she'll probably want to meet you."

Auggie grinned at her. "I have no problem with that whatsoever."

The second they entered their work space, Joan flagged them down. Annie looked around. "Wow. This place is pretty busy for seven o'clock on a Thursday night."

Joan led them to the conference room. Jai was already inside, along with several other familiar faces. Annie sat down next to Auggie. Joan walked up front. "Annie, Auggie, if you could explain what happened after you left work today."

Annie quickly went over the phone call. She described the voice as best she could, and then her decision to leave the tavern. She described the man who had left the tavern less than ten minutes after her. "He had a German accent. He was about two inches taller than me, about 150 pounds. I didn't get to see his face or hair."

Auggie cut in. "But we know he was there for Annie. As he was walking away he mumbled how he was sure Annie came to the tavern on Thursday nights." He leaned back in his seat, crossing his arms. "What we don't know is how he knew that she would be there. Or what he wanted. And how the man who warned Annie got Annie's cell number."

Jai turned to Joan. "What do you want us to do?" Auggie almost growled. Already Jai assumed that he would be in on Annie's safety.

Joan waited until she had everyone's attention before she began. "Okay. Annie, I want you to stay with Auggie for the time being. Auggie, I want you to get Annie a new cell as well as a new number. But keep the old one in case he calls again. Jai." She turned to the handsome young man. "You are going to be their lookout. This man that wants Annie will be back again. He seems to have memorized her daily pattern." She closed her eyes and brought a hand to her forehead. When she opened them again, she became super aware of the several pairs of eyes staring at her, one doing so unconsciously. "We'll figure something else out tomorrow morning."

Auggie grinned with the news. As everyone stood up to leave, he said, "Looks like we're going to have a sleepover, Annie."

He heard Annie smile, and then her murmured reply back. "You know you've always wanted to have one with me. And don't worry. I know the _best_ games." Auggie smiled at her, and then laughed at the choking he heard behind him.

"Jai. I assume you know where I live?"

Jai walked around so that he stood in front of Auggie. His voice was smoother as he spoke. "Yes. I'll call you when I get into position."

"Great." Auggie's hand found Annie's arm so that he could latch onto her elbow. "Annie. You'll need to wait while I get you a new phone and a number. Wait in my office." He took his electronic can from his pocket, switching it on, and then let go of Annie's arm. "I'll be back for the hour is up."

Annie watched him go with a smile on her face. She nodded to Jai before turning to leave the conference room.

Once she entered Auggie's office, she allowed herself a small grin. She could sit in Auggie's super comfy chair! She plunged for the chair, sending it spinning after she had seated herself. When it has slowed to a stop in front of his computer, she leaned forward, placing her hands on his Braille keyboard. Closing her eyes, she tried to imagine herself as Auggie. She ran her fingers over the raised keyboard, frowning. None of this made any sense to her. How did Auggie learn to read this so fast? He must have really sensitive fingers.

She had only a second's warning when Auggie appeared in his office doorway. She quickly composed herself. "So, did you get it?"

Auggie tossed the cell towards her. Annie caught it, and then ran her hands over it. She frowned. "Auggie, this is just like my old phone."

Auggie smirked. "No, it's not."

Annie started to argue, her voice rising just a tad. "Yes, it is. How am I supposed to be able to tell them apart?"

"Open it."

Annie did so, gasping as the background on her phone. It was a picture of Auggie. On her old phone, she had never bothered choosing a background, simply using the default. "You are kind of narcissistic, aren't you?"

Auggie grinned at her. "You know you love me for it." He turned around. "Come let's go. We'll put a sticker on your old phone to label it when we get home."

Annie stuck her tongue out at him. "You're sticking your tongue out at me."

Annie got up, and marched over to his side. She leaned close to his head, "You wish," before grabbing his arm. "We're stopping by my desk first. I have another set of clothes there I can wear for tomorrow."

The ride to Auggie's apartment was filled with their banter. It wasn't until they walked inside Auggie's place that she remembered the last time she had been here with him. She remembered his bed had been a mess, and she had found a stocking on his couch.

He dropped his arm when he walked into his home, proceeding forward without any help. "You can take the bed. I'll sleep on the couch."

Imagining what his bed must look like, she almost yelled when she said suddenly, "No!" Annie calmed herself. "I mean, I'll be more comfortable on the couch." She turned an untrusting eye to the couch.

Auggie sighed, slipping off his jacket and laying it across the arm of a chair. "Fine. We'll figure it out later. And Annie," he turned to her. "You should know that Liza and I are done now. I turned it over to Joan two weeks ago."

Annie stared at him, feeling her gaze soften. "Okay. Thanks for telling me."

They were interrupted from what would have become a very sweet moment by the ringing of Auggie's phone. He reached for it. "Yeah?"

"Auggie, Jai here. I'm in position. No one will be getting in tonight."

Auggie would have rolled his eyes if he could. "Great. Thanks, Jai." He hung up promptly.

He turned to Annie again. "I'm guessing you're hungry." He gave a cricked grin. "After all, that hotdog could hardly be called a dinner."

Annie shrugged. "Yeah, I could eat." She walked towards him. "Why, are you going to cook for me?"

Auggie walked towards his kitchen. "Well, I know I have eggs… and cheese. I could whip us up some omelets?" He opened his fridge, immediately pulling out the eggs, milk, and cheese.

Annie watched him from her position leaning against his counter. "You know exactly where everything is."

"Of course. I _do_ live here." He placed his items on the counter next to him. "There's bread in the cupboard over there," he said, gesturing, "if you want to toast some. Just be sure to put it back where you found it."

And so the next twenty minutes or so found them comfortably working next to each other as they fixed that night's dinner.

Annie smiled, savoring the last of her omelet. She hadn't been paying attention to Auggie much while he had made it, but he must have added something, because that omelet was the best in her life, beating even her sister's cooking.

Auggie listened to her from his position across the table. "Good, right?"

Annie glanced at him. "Yeah. What did you add?"

Auggie smirked. "No, no, no." he said in an effeminate voice, swinging his finger back and forth in front of him. "A good chef never reveals his secrets."

Annie was silent for all of two seconds before bursting out laughing. "That was a good one, Auggie."

"Whatever pleases you," he replied.

The rest of the night followed in much the same manner, until Annie was yawning every five minutes. She and Auggie were sitting on his couch, playing I Spy. Now Annie knew this game wasn't technically fair, seeing as Auggie was blind and all, but Auggie was the one who suggested it. He knew his apartment front and back. Annie thought she would have had a huge advantage over him, but he guessed right long before she did.

Auggie waited. It was her turn to spy something. When he didn't hear her voice, he got a little worried. He knew she was still with him. Sometime during the game, she had leaned over so that she rested against his side, his arm around her shoulder. "Annie?" He listened intently, and finally he determined that she had fallen asleep.

Auggie didn't have the heart to wake her up, and then have a little argument about who slept where. He closed his eyes. This was just as comfy as his bed. He clapped his hands lightly to turn off the light, and then turned to nuzzle the top of Annie's head. He fell asleep surrounded by the scent of grapefruit.


	2. Chapter 2

Annie was usually quick to wake. She had to be, given her job. It would never be heard that Annie Walked had messed up a case because she had been sleepy or drowsy. But that wasn't the case today. Annie yawned; eyes still closed, and leaned her head back more securely against the arm around her.

She opened them, her eyes dilating as they got used to the light. This was definitely _not_ her bed. Actually, this was definitely _not_ a bed, period. She was on a couch. Auggie's couch. With Auggie. Annie would've liked to stay all curled up with him, but of course at that exact moment she became aware of the pressing matter of her full bladder.

The sun filtered through the blinds, making it easier for Annie to see and infiltrate Auggie's hold on her body. She quietly pulled away from him, standing and stretching before walking over to his bathroom.

His bathroom was decorated in typical male fashion, unkempt and unclean. Annie eyed the mess in the bathroom, wanting to clean it so bad, but unwilling to face Auggie's wrath if she ended up switching things around a little too much. She quickly used the toilet, and then high-tailed it out of there.

She and Auggie's phones were sitting on the coffee table, so she quickly grabbed hers, making a quick call to Jai, whom she assumed had stayed in position all night without any type of hassle.

His cell rang three times before heading to voicemail. Annie's forehead creased, and she called him again. This time someone picked up. "Hello?" she asked. "Jai, are you there?"

"Jai can't come to the phone right now."

Annie reached over to shake Auggie awake. This was the same voice that had warned her yesterday! "Where is he?"

There was a moment's silence before Jai came onto the phone. "Annie? This isn't what we thought." Annie felt Auggie lean forward next to her to hear the conversation better.

"Then what is it?" she asked. Jai didn't sound as if he was in pain, but she knew he could act. She asked again, "Jai? What is it?", but the phone had already been taken away.

"Annie, I want to see you. If you meet me by one o'clock at the entrance of the subway, Jai will be free to go." There was a pause as the person on the other side seemed to think of what to say next. "This is important for you to know. It's about Ben."

The man on the other side had hung up, leaving Annie and Auggie to reflect silently on what had just happened. Annie herself was somewhat confused. Was the man talking about _her_ Ben, the one she had fallen in love with? It had been quite awhile since she had seen him; surely this man didn't think she and Ben were still involved? Annie turned to Auggie. "I should go, get Jai out of there." And find out about Ben, she added silently. "I'm going to get dressed. We'll figure out something from there."

Auggie nodded his affirmation. "You_ should_ go. But we need to call Joan to let her know what's up. She'll tell us what to do."

They each went their separate ways, completely ignoring the fact that they had each spent the night so close to the other.  
When Annie came back from changing in Auggie's bathroom, Auggie was already dresses quite nicely with a phone up to his ear. She walked to his side and let her hand rest on his arm to announce her presence. He nodded in her direction, continuing his conversation with Joan.

Quickly Auggie relayed the situation to Joan, who told them to come in immediately; one of their own being taken hostage happened often enough, but that person being _Jai Wilcox_ was entirely another matter. They would have to work fast, keeping this covered so that other agencies wouldn't become involved.

Annie and Auggie arrived at their building approximately fifteen minutes later, a little after nine o'clock. Annie had her arm wrapped around Auggie's, and they walked hastily to the conference room where Joan would tell them their assignment.

Joan walked to the conference room. She had just come from her husband's office, where she had told him about Annie and Ben. He wanted Annie to meet this stranger to gain information about Mercer. Maybe the CIA would be able to finally catch him.

Joan stood at the front of the room, where she stood tall as she peered over everyone seated at the long table. "Jai Wilcox has been taken under. We know that the man who took him is the same that warned Annie yesterday. He wants to talk with Annie in person today at one. About Ben Mercer.

"Annie will meet with him. Auggie, you'll stay here and be her ears." Auggie looked like he wanted to protest, so she quickly turned to the other side of the table. "And you two will be staked at the subway. I want you there an hour early to look for any suspicious activity." She eyed everyone in the room. "Follow protocol."

With that last statement, everyone went their separate ways to prepare. Annie herself said a mumbled "I'll see you in a little bit," to Auggie before giving his arm a squeeze and leaving the room to make her way to that one stall in the girls' bathroom.

She banged her head against the stall door. This shouldn't be any different, she told herself. She would act as though this was any other op, disregarding the fact that this was about attaining information about her ex- …boyfriend didn't feel like the right term. This was also about getting Jai back, too. She tried to place Jai above Ben, but her emotional self rebelled against the mere thought. She banged the bottom of her fist against the stall wall. "Screw it!"

"No thanks."

Annie didn't know whether to exclaim at his presence or scold him. "Auggie. How can you just keep appearing in the girls' bathroom? You're going to get in trouble some day."

His voice carried over the door. "I can't see. Any blind man could make a similar mistake."

Annie opened the door to see Auggie standing there, laser cane on and pointed in her direction. "How do you always know that I come here?"

He shrugged. "Where else do most emotional women go? Besides, it's not that hard to guess since that first day, you know."

"Ha, well, seeing you always makes me feel better." Annie walked forward, twisting her arm around Auggie's to turn him around, and taking his laser can from him to turn it off. She then discreetly placed it in his right pants pocket.

They walked to Auggie's office silently. When they arrived, he sat in his chair, turning on his computer. He could feel Annie's breathe on the back of his neck as she leaned over to watch what he was doing. He dug through a drawer on his right. "You are going to have this earpiece in at all times. I will be able to hear your conversation, and talk to you if something comes up. Don't ever take it out."

He held the piece in his hand palm up and waited for her to reach around his head to pick it up. He breathed in as the scent of grapefruit wafted past him, reminding him of last night. He shook his head. This was _not_ the time to think of Annie like that. She may be good at acting, but that didn't mean he couldn't 'see' past her façade. He would be there for her. This time, for sure.

He ran his fingers over his fingers over his watch. "It's just past twelve. You should probably get going." He grinned. "Would you like me to walk you to the front door?"

Annie sent him a small smile. "Yeah, thanks."

They walked to the entrance, Auggie's hand lightly clasping her elbow. When they reached the entrance, he leaned down to what he assumed was her head, and whispered in her ear. "I'll be in your head the entire time." He clenched her arm tighter. "I'm won't leave you by yourself."


End file.
